GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota basketball player Makailah Dyer and football player Brian Labat, both of whom graduated in May, have been named 2016-17 Big Sky Conference Scholar-Athlete Award winners for their respective performances in competition and in the classroom.

To qualify for the award, a student-athlete must have a minimum grade-point-average of 3.2 (on a 4.0 scale), be a member of the graduating class and/or have completed their last year of intercollegiate athletic eligibility, have completed at least two years of intercollegiate competition and be a letterwinner in their respective sport.

Dyer was named UND's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in May after being unanimously voted to her second straight All-Big Sky Conference First Team. She averaged a team-leading 15.0 points per game and led the Fighting Hawks to the second Big Sky regular-season championship of her career.

Dyer, a native of Madison, Wis., graduated with a degree in kinesiology and ranks as the No. 13 scorer in school history.

Labat started all 12 games at linebacker for UND in 2017 and helped the Fighting Hawks win their first-ever Big Sky championship and advance to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs for the first time. He registered a team-leading eight tackles-for-loss among his 40 tackles while adding a career-high two interceptions and four pass break-ups.

The Detroit Lakes, Minn., product was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team and the National Football Foundation Honor Society. He graduated with a degree in biology.